Turkey Week

So, it´s the week of Thanksgiving! Happy Turkey week everyone!

You know what´s funny? In English there is a country called Turkey right? And we think and laugh at how a country can be named after a bird we eat annually. But in Portugués there is also a country whose name means the same animal as turkey. Do you know which country it is? Well, if you haven´t looked into it, the country is Peru! Peru means turkey. Well that´s fun.

As with the rest of the world, there are people here in São Luís that prematurely put up Christmas decorations. It started a week or too ago. On the streets I´ve started to hear Brazilianized tune of jingle bells with a reggae twist. I´ve seen one reindeer made of lights and a few other Christmas decorations. Maybe it´s not premature in Brazil to put up Christmas decorations before Thanksgiving, because as far as I know, they don´t have a Thanksgiving. Fortunately for us missionaries here in São Luís, we have zone conference on Thanksgiving.

I don´t remember what I talked about last week. But there was a marriage at the church this past Saturday. It was nice. I sang with one of the sister missionaries, Sister Hallman from Nauvoo, while the bride walked to the front. The ceremony was nice. I´m actually not to used to witnessing a wedding. I think it was the third time in my life. But that´s because all of the other weddings I´ve been to have been at the temple and I´ve had to wait outside and sometimes watch or take care of the little ones. So, their marriage is a legal marriage. The following morning, the husband was baptized. So, in about a year, they will be able to go to the temple and be sealed for time and all eternity. It´s truly an amazing thing. Eternal marriage. It can only be done at the temple by someone who has the authority of God (the priesthood).

The priesthood is an amazing thing. Long ago, Christ gave the priesthood to his apostles. He told Peter that whatever he sealed on earth will be sealed in heaven. This sealing power was lost for a long time, but thanks to the Mercy of God, He restored the priesthood and the His gospel and His church through His servant, the Prophet Joseph Smith. It was Peter, James, and John that appeared to Joseph Smith to restore this sealing power. Today, we still have this sealing power of the priesthood of God. I know that through the temple and through the priesthood, families can be together forever. I know that any other marriage that is performed here on this earth ends at death, it´s like putting and expiration date on your marriage. But through the blessings of the temple marriages and families can be forever. I know the Lord Jesus Christ lives. I know that His church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is true. I know that families can be together forever, and that God wants us all to have this amazing blessing. I love you. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

-Elder Samuel H. Chiba

P.S. Here are some other pictures from P-Day last week. It´s pretty cool. There were a whole bunch of old buildings and there was practically no one there because it was a national holiday. So, a lot of things were closed, but we got to explore and have fun and take pictures.

Sushi Night!

A week ago, I made sushi at Waldemar´s house. (Val-deh-mar he´s a member of the church here who takes care of us) Anyway, he has traveled to Japan and other countries because he works with ships, but especially likes Japan. So, he bought some seaweed and kani (artificial crab), and we made sushi. More like California rolls. So, you know in sushi, you need to add some rice vinegar to season the rice, but here it´s kind of difficult to find. So, I used apple vinegar, and it turns out that apple vinegar is a good substitute when you don´t have rice vinegar. Also, you need to use a special kind of rice, but didn´t find that either. Fortunately, I know how to make normal rice into sticky rice.

Also this week, we discovered that the area that we tract isn´t actually São Luís. A small part of our area is, but we discovered that most of our area is actually in the neighboring city, which is São José de Ribamar. We were surprised. We´ve been here for more than a month, but didn´t realize that we were leaving the city, in which we live, everyday.Yesterday, I was talking with some visiters at church. One of them asked me, what is different about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and other churches. I told him, "well, that´s kind of a difficult question. but basicially this, we have the whole gospel of Jesus Christ" And basically that really is the answer, we have the fullness of the gospel, when others have parts, or have altered parts, or missing parts. It´s actually really kind of lengthy and difficult to explain in an email. So, here is what I have to say:

1. talk with some local missionaries. They can help you understand better.
2. Visit the Church of Jesus Chist of Latter-day Saints. There you will learn more about the gospel.
3. Read the Book of Mormon, because in the Book of Mormon, you will understand clearly what the Gospel of Jesus Christ is. I know that the things that we teach are true. That´s why I´m here in Brasil for 2 years. That´s why I speak Portugués.

I love you my friends and family.

-Elder Samuel H. Chiba

Lacraia.....

So, I had a near death experience this week. It´s kind of funny. Mostly because, in the moment, I didn´t know I had a near death experience. Maybe I´m being dramatic.

Anyway, I was peacefully taking a shower after I got home, and when I was about to turn off the water, I felt something slithering up my ankle. I looked down and to my surprise, it wasn´t a snake that was slithering up my ankle, but it was a black centipede. It had crawled up from the drain in the floor that I was standing on (I´m really greatful for my current habit, since the beginning of the mission, of wearing sandals in the shower). It wasn´t too big, it was maybe the length of my palm, but nevertheless it was creeping up my ankle. I quickly shook it off and trapped it under the giant squeegy that all bathrooms here have. I grabbed my towel and then yelled to my companion to ask him if he knew what it was. He told me it was called "lacraia" and that they are really poisonous. He then preceded to ask if it had bitten me, (fortunately no), but told me that I need to be careful because they are really poisonous. He said that people who get bitten by one end up in the hospital and some people die. After that, he said that it´s okay to kill the lacraia and that I should, so I did. After that, I threw some bleach down the drain and all over the shower and went to sit down, because it hit me that I could have been in the hospital... WOOHOO!!!! That night and the next I slept in my hammock to stay as far away from the ground as possible. Since then, I take my shower keeping my eyes fixed on the drain. So, good news friends and family! You´re prayers are keeping me safe! I love you SOOO much! Yeah.... only in Brasil... hopefully...

I´m liking this topic of prayer, so I´m going to elaborate some more.

Prayer is how we communicate with God, our loving Father in Heaven. Prayer is literally a conversation with Heavenly Father. The Savior taught us how we should pray. He gave us an example to follow, but right before he gave the example of prayer, he said not to pray using vain repetitions. So, when we pray, we should pray from the heart and express what we tuly want to express. You don't need to speak very beautifully, but humbly from the heart. Be simple, sincere, but also respectful. Also, when we pray we need to have faith in what we ask of God. Like in Matthew 21:22

"22 And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive. "

Remember to take some time to listen. Like when you call someone on the phone. It´s not just you talking, you also have to take time to listen to what the other has to say. It´s the same thing when we pray. It´s something I need to work on. It seems that we are often in a hurry when we do anything, but we need to take time to pray. Slow down a little. Prayer is very important. In the book of 2 Nephi chapter 32 verses 8 and 9 talk about the importance of prayer.

"8 And now, my beloved brethren, I perceive that ye ponder still in your hearts; and it grieveth me that I must speak concerning this thing. For if ye would hearken unto the Spirit which teacheth a man to pray ye would know that ye must pray; for the evil spirit teacheth not a man to pray, but teacheth him that he must not pray.

9 But behold, I say unto you that ye must pray always, and not faint; that ye must not perform any thing unto the Lord save in the first place ye shall pray unto the Father in the name of Christ, that he will consecrate thy performance unto thee, that thy performance may be for the welfare of thy soul."

I know that prayer is essential for our growth. We need to learn to rely on the Lord a little more each day. Prayer will increase your faith, and if you pray sincerely and listen, you will be guided to what you need to do. I know that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is true, and for this reason, I am here serving a mission to which the Lord has called me. I love you my dear ones. May the Lord bless you until we meet again.

-Elder Samuel H. Chiba

Re-Elections

Well, we started an English course last week. I´m teaching basics and one of the sisters in my district is teaching an advanced class. We put some fliers and things up at a local college/university. So, that´s pretty fun. It´s pretty interesting how much you learn about your own language when learning another language or teaching your own.

This week, there hasn´t been too much excitement, aside from the election for the new president of Brasil yesterday. They had to do a revote a month after the elections occured because there were three candidates for president and none of them got more than 50 percent, so the two with the most votes had an extra month to send out their propoganda and debate. So, yesterday we had to go to the voting place because here in Brasil, it´s a law that everyone has to vote. So, I got to see how it´s done kind of. Actually, all the Brazilian missionaries do a "justification" because they are not able to vote, but you have to go to the location to vote in order to "justify." We went to a local school, and practically all of the classrooms were open to voting. They have an electronic voting system here. I asked one of the attendants if I could look and see what the machine was, and they said I could. Actually, they were confused at first until my companion told them that I was American. So, I got to see a Brazilian voting machine. My companion later told me, that I´m probably one of the only Americans to have seen one of those machines. Apparently, you can´t even look at one if you´re not Brazilian, or if you don´t have all your documents to vote. I´m not sure though. It was pretty interesting. It had a screen with numbers to the side. Then underneath the numbers there are three buttons. White, Correct, and End. 'Correct' if you put in the wrong numbers (there are a set of numbers that represent the people you are electing). 'End' for when you end.... And 'White' which is if you don´t know who to vote for you press white and you vote goes with the majority. Unfortunately, (my companion explained), the people think that when they press 'white' they are just putting in a blank vote rather than voting with the majority. Anyway, the new President of Brasil is the first female president of Brasil. Unfortunately, I don´t like politics. In fact I think that 90% of all politicians are corrupt (and I´m being lenient).

But that aside, some day the world will be a better place. That´s part of the purpose of missionary work. It´s to prepare the world for the Second Coming of the Savior. If you pay attention, you will see the signs of the second coming in the holy scriptures. One of the modern day Apostles of the Lord, Elder Dallin H. Oaks spoke about preparing for the Second Coming. Here is a link,

http://lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?hideNav=1&locale=0&sourceId=4845ee9ba42fe010VgnVCM100000176f620a____&vgnextoid=f318118dd536c010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD

I know that Jesus Christ lives. I know that He will come again. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is truly His church. It´s important to remember not to delay the day of our repentance because no one knows the exact day, month, or year when our Savior will come again. I love you my beloved friends and family. Stay strong and do what you can to stay close to the Lord.

-Elder Chiba

Burro e Cabra

So, burro (boohoh) means donkey and cabra means goat. This week I discovered how much my companion loves to pet animals. Fortunately the frequency to encounter these animals is such that we happen upon them several times a day. We usually stop to pet them or give them some kind of foliage. We´ve been playing with the idea of getting donkeys when we return home from the mission. If I end up having a lot of land, I´ll get myself a donkey. They´re pretty useful. They can pull things for you, but also, you can use the donkey in the local Christmas pageant. I think if I get one, I´ll name it Stanley. I think that´s a good name. There is also a donkey that really likes me. She is quite passionate. My companion likes to joke that she is my girlfriend. Unfortunately, I´m still not the biggest fan of goats. But he took some good pictures.

Recently I finished reading the gospel of John in the New Testament. I had never read it before, but during genereal conference in April the Prophet said to read the book of St. John. So, I read it. It was a really good experience, especially because right now I´m a representative of Jesus Christ. I was reading so I could learn more about the Savior, but also how to act more like Him. There is a scripture in The Book of Mormon that I encountered recently that I thought was very profound. It´s found in the book of 3rd Nephi chapter 27 verse 21. (Jesus Christ speaking)

21 Verily, verily, I say unto you, this is my gospel; and ye know the things that ye must do in my church; for the works which ye have seen me do that shall ye also do; for that which ye have seen me do even that shall ye do;

It was the last phrase that stood out to me. "for the works which ye have seen me do that shall ye also do;". Truly, this phrase is the something that we all need to apply in our lives. I know that if we follow the example of our Savior in all things, we can truly be happy. I love you my friends and family. I pray that we can all improve ourselves a little bit more everyday to be more like the Savior.

-Elder Samuel H. Chiba

Gone With the Wind of Guanabara

So first off, Guanabara is the charter bus company that our mission uses to transport missionaries from place to place. After 6 days of being together, one of the assistants called us and told us that Elder Paz was to be transfered the following day. So, that´s what happened. The day after I received my new companion Elder Bezerra (remember a double "rr" makes an "h" sound). He´s pretty small and feisty. He´s from Manaus which is the capital of the state of Amazonas. If you are wondering, he´s never seen a native before because Manaus is a huge city and people there are normal. (they just eat a lot of fish and exotic fruit, well I suppose if you live in the area it´s not exotic, so let´s go with tropical fruit) He´s also had a pet monkey and has been trained in several martial arts. My Portugués is definitely going to improve with him, he doesn´t hesitate to correct me (which I think is a blessing from heaven because I´m not the best at studying the language). I say the words correctly and never really had an accent to begin with, I just don´t speak normally. He´s a good teacher, especially for having only one transfer in the field.

Things are going well. The people here are great. I baptized two people on Saturday. It was amazing. Really, it´s truly amazing to be a part of someone´s eternal progression. I was telling my district at our district meeting that "Everytime we invite someone to be baptized, we invite them to have Eternal Life." That was one of those profound moments that the Holy Ghost taught me the instant that I spoke. Ít´s true though. Teaching and studying the gospel is amazing. In St. John 3:5 says "5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God."

In order to inherit eternal life we need to enter the kingdom of God, and in order to enter the kingdom of God we need to be born of water and of the Spirit (which is being baptized and receiving the Holy Ghost). But the thing is, there are many people that will say that they´ve been baptized and received the Holy Spirit or that they can baptize, but unless they have the proper authority it´s not valid. Jesus Christ set the perfect example for us to follow. Matthew chapter 3

13 ¶ Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be ^abaptized of him.

14 But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me?

15 And Jesus answering said unto him, ^aSuffer it to be so now: for thus it ^bbecometh us to ^cfulfil all ^drighteousness. Then he suffered him.

16 And Jesus, when he was ^abaptized, went up ^bstraightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the ^cSpirit of God descending like a^ddove, and lighting upon him:

Why did Jesus search out John the Baptist? It was because John the Baptist had the proper authority of God to baptize. John knew that Jesus was the Son of God because he was a servant of the Lord who had the authority of God and that´s why he said that he need to be baptized by Jesus. So, why was Jesus Christ baptised? Did he not live a perfect and sinless life? Why was it that he needed to be baptised for the remission of sins? What does he mean to "fulfill all righteousness"? Here is the answer in the book of 2 Nephi chapter 31 (located in the Book of Mormon)...

5 And now, if the Lamb of God, he being ^aholy, should have need to be ^bbaptized by water, to fulfil all righteousness, O then, how much more need have we, being unholy, to be ^cbaptized, yea, even by water!

6 And now, I would ask of you, my beloved brethren, wherein the Lamb of God did fulfil all righteousness in being baptized by water?

7 Know ye not that he was holy? But notwithstanding he being holy, he showeth unto the children of men that, according to the flesh he humbleth himself before the Father, and witnesseth unto the Father that he would be ^aobedient unto him in keeping his commandments.

8 Wherefore, after he was baptized with water the Holy Ghost descended upon him in the ^aform of a ^bdove.

9 And again, it showeth unto the children of men the straitness of the path, and the narrowness of the ^agate, by which they should enter, he having set the ^bexample before them.

10 And he said unto the children of men: ^aFollow thou me. Wherefore, my beloved brethren, can we ^bfollow Jesus save we shall be willing to keep the commandments of the Father?

11 And the Father said: Repent ye, repent ye, and be baptized in the name of my Beloved Son.

12 And also, the voice of the Son came unto me, saying: He that is baptized in my name, to him will the Father ^agive the Holy Ghost, like unto me; wherefore, ^bfollow me, and do the things which ye have seen me do.

Jesus Christ was baptized to show us the example that we need to follow. My dear friends and family. I know that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is true. I know that the Book of Mormon is true, for many reasons. But I know the Book of Mormon is true because it teaches of Jesus Christ. I love you my dear ones and I invite you follow Christ´s example. Let´s all try to be more like our Savior every day.

Elder Samuel H. Chiba

Sião Luís

So, I´m in the capital city of Maranhão, São Luís. Which just so happens to be on an island. But, it´s pretty big. This is my third area. I´m serving in a really big ward with my new companion Elder Paz (his name means peace). Just so you know, Sião means Zion, so I´m in "Sião Luís." Get it? My companion Elder Paz is almost the same height as me, and quite a bit bigger than I am. He´s 25 and joined the church 4 or 5 years ago. He´s pretty cool.

There is this awesome soda called "Guaraná Jesus" it´s pink, and it´s tasty. It only exists here in Maranhão. On the bottle it says, something like "the flavor of living in Maranhão."

I don´t have too much time today, but I want you to know something very important. The Gospel of Jesus Christ truly blesses lives and families. In my last area, there was a family on the brink of separation, until we helped them learn about the gospel. When they truly applied the principles of the gospel, there was a miraculous change. In the beginning the man and woman were sitting on opposite sides of the room. But now they want to be baptized and sealed in the temple for eternity. So, what I learned is that if your marriage is falling apart either one or both parties are not living the gospel. Don´t pass blame to others for your faults. Do what you can to live the gospel and invite others to live the gospel also. Don´t give up. A family can be together forever, but remember that we all have to fight to stay on the right path. A marriage can last forever, but you have to live selflessly. I know the gospel is true because I see it changing lives. It´s truly something amazing. I know that Christ lives. I know the Book of Mormon is true and that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the true church of God. I love you my brothers and sisters.

-Elder Samuel H. Chiba